The library on the second floor of the manor was thick with the smell of ink and the musty decay of old parchment.
The Great Witch — that petite, snow-haired girl — was lying on her side, suspended in mid-air, while several heavy spellbooks slowly orbited around her, casting a faint blue glow.
Those books were the heart of the illusory boundary spell that blanketed the entire island.
"Hmm…"
The Great Witch, Snow, gently brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen across her forehead. She hadn't slept in another night — and the faint weariness in those pale blue eyes showed it.
The day before, she had used the [Boundary-Breaking Talisman] to leave the island and intervene, causing the illusion boundary to briefly "go dark" without its anchor.
Now she needed to restart the boundary — to return Witch Island to what it had always been — before Shaya's suspicions deepened any further.
"It should be fine. Thank goodness I redeemed that Sharingan from the chat shop earlier — restarting the illusion boundary went much faster than I expected."
She turned the lacquered box in her fingers — the one containing the Sharingan, engraved with what looked like a spiral pattern within its iris. She had redeemed it for 1,500 points earned from completing her first mission, during one of the shop's daily refreshes.
According to its description, it held the power to cast illusions and hypnotize the mind. Using it fused directly into herself carried a risk of blindness.
Not that it mattered — the Great Witch had instead repurposed it as the new core of the island's illusory boundary spell. An ability like that was too limited to be worth using on herself at full strength.
Once the boundary was restored and layered with the Sharingan's hypnotic suggestion, Shaya should be able to go back to living his carefree life on the island, just as before.
The less you know, the happier you are — wasn't that how it worked?
"Though… did Shaya come around? He and Meruru haven't come to pester me at all today."
She turned her gaze idly toward the window.
Going by the last few days, Shaya had made a point of showing up with Meruru every single day to try and reason with her, even after she had confined them. He hadn't given up once.
But today… the manor was too quiet.
"Mother, are you finished?"
The library door was pushed open softly.
Shin walked in carrying a tray, with Meruru following close behind — cheeks flushed pink, head bowed, fingers tugging at the hem of her skirt, her clothes just barely disheveled enough to notice.
The nun girl's eyes were bright and dewy — like a camellia after a long rain, radiantly beautiful in a way that made even the Great Witch feel a flicker of envy.
Not that it stopped the Great Witch from being utterly unsure what Shin was up to.
"I've thought it over, Mother."
Shin set the tray down. On it were cups of black tea he had brewed himself and a small spread of pastries he had made by hand.
It had been a long time since he'd done this. Ever since Meruru had cheerfully taken over all the household chores.
But Meruru had learned everything she knew about cooking from him — and on pure taste alone, what he made was nothing to sneeze at.
"You were right. The outside world really is too dangerous. What happened on the mission made me realize — I should listen to you and stay put."
He casually draped an arm around Meruru's shoulders as he said it — easy and natural, as if they'd always stood that close.
"And I think your suggestion before was right too. Meruru really is wonderful. We need more private time together to grow closer."
"Mmm, please don't say such embarrassing things in front of the Great Witch…" Meruru buried her face into Shin's side with a soft, flustered sound, her cheeks so red they were practically steaming.
The Great Witch: ?
She briefly questioned whether she'd worked herself into delirium, or whether the Sharingan's hypnotic field had somehow activated on its own without her noticing.
Shaya — the very same Shaya who had been so visibly resistant to all of her arrangements just days ago — how, in the span of barely a week, had his brain apparently been completely overtaken by dopamine?
Unless… the novelty had worn off and he was already addicted. Well, he was young, after all. And it seemed Meruru had carried out the assignment she'd been given quite admirably.
"Shaya, you… you really mean that?"
"Of course. I know you only want what's best for us."
Shin held her gaze — sincere, with just a touch of guilt in his eyes.
"To help raise the birth rate on Witch Island, Meruru and I will be spending as much time as possible in the bedroom doing the things you want us to do. If there's nothing urgent, please ask the owls not to disturb us."
With that, Shin tugged a thoroughly scarlet Meruru along and turned for the door.
The Great Witch watched the two of them practically tangled together, vanishing down the hall in a pair of linked silhouettes.
This was exactly what she had wanted. And yet, now that it was actually happening, she felt something hollow open up in her chest.
"…That's one less thing to worry about, I suppose."
The Great Witch's expression shifted — complicated, in the end settling into a long, slow exhale.
Something still felt faintly off — but watching her little seedling finally get plucked by that pig was one less item on her list of concerns.
They really have grown up…
She took a sip of the black tea Shin had brewed for her, letting the sweet warmth press down on the hollow ache.
"Good. If those two are busy carrying on the bloodline, I can finally focus on what I need to do."
"Even if something happens to me, the witch clan won't be completely extinct…"
At peace, finally, the Great Witch bent her full attention back to her work.
All she needed now was to restore the boundary — and then everything would go back to normal.
"Time to get to work!"
The snow-haired Great Witch gave her cheeks a firm pat and threw herself wholeheartedly into the intricate weaving of the spell.
Meanwhile, on the second floor — in the bedroom.
Meruru was standing there, both hands clasped to her chest, trembling with a mixture of shyness and anticipation, watching the door click shut as Shin closed it behind him.
"B-Brother, you really are so impatient — we literally just this morning…"
"But that's fine. If brother wants to, no matter how many times — even all day — I'll, I'll…~"
"Shh."
Shin turned around and pressed a finger to his lips.
At that moment, he had activated the full suite of abilities that came with his evolution as a Pillar Man — the constitution of a Ultimate Being.
The bones and muscles across his body let out a low, grinding series of shifts and adjustments. The handsome face and solidly built frame — in the span of just a few seconds — compacted and reshaped into something that, somewhat incongruously, read as distinctly feminine.
"Brother…?"
Meruru's eyes went wide. The lacy negligee in her hands nearly slipped to the floor.
Was Brother about to — what? Did he find being on the offensive side too boring and want to try something more… advanced?
"Listen carefully, Meruru." The newly reshaped Shin kept his voice low, leaning close to deliver his instructions:
"While I'm gone, I need you to keep up the sounds of us being together. Can you do that?"
"This matters — for both of us, and for Mother."
"Please — I'm counting on you, Meruru."
"Eh — wh — …okay, alright…"
Meruru blinked, a little dazed, and gave a slow nod. She didn't fully understand why — but if it was something her brother needed, she would do it without hesitation. Short of outright betraying the Great Witch, there was nothing she wouldn't do for him.
Even if covering for Shin like this was, in its own way, a bit of a betrayal of the Great Witch.
With Meruru sorted, Shin reached inward and opened the group chat.
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: @Lord of Lands Between
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: Lady Marika, may I visit the Lands Between?
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: I've been training lately, and from what I watched of that guy's stream earlier, it looks like there's a war going on in your lands — maybe I can be of some use.
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: I'm also quite curious about your daughter Torrynt or should I say St. Trina— in the legends of our world, she's recorded as the goddess of sleep, capable of brewing a nectar that can keep even demigods in slumber for extended periods. Is any of that true?
Shin was heading to the Lands Between.
His aim was simple: since the Great Witch wanted to stage a "noble death" and slip away, he would get ahead of her. The moment he got his hands on St. Trinas's — Nectar — sleep nectar, potent enough to put even a demigod under —
Don't misunderstand. He wasn't planning to do anything untoward.
What he was planning was this: with that nectar, he could slip free of the Great Witch's control at the critical moment, go beyond Witch Island, and carry out the "revenge" she had always dreamed of — on her behalf.
[Lord of Lands Between]: Hm? Trina's legend?
She had been quiet lately, but Marika still responded whenever she was mentioned.
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: Yes. My world is a bit unusual — somehow, the deeds of everyone in this chat can be found in old records and chronicles. Perhaps it's what some call "information resonance bleedthrough" between worlds.
[Moon Princess]: ?
[Moon Princess]: What do you mean by that — wait, hold on, you're not exactly new anymore, are you.
[Moon Princess]: I'm talking about you, [Aspiring] — are you perhaps one of those people from a storybook who already knows everything about everyone? A transmigrator? Come clean — and I'll go easy on you!
To be continued…
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